(Untitled)

[auberus]

I really meant to post one poem a day this month, but events conspired against me.  So here's the last one, for the last day of the month -- but that doesn't mean that you all shouldn't keep reading poetry.

Threes
Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

I was a boy when I heard three red words
a thousand Frenchman died in the streets
for:  Liberty, Equality,

Comments

[ficwize]

Oh, I really loved this one. Nicely done. :)

[ritvars]

At least on Russia Sandburg is a waaay off the mark.

[auberus]

Not really -- at least, not when you consider what the original impetus behind the Russian Revolution was. Sure, the leaders wanted power -- but the people wanted Sandburg's peace, bread, and land. Also, you have to keep in mind that this poem was written between the World Wars. One of the most important things to remember when reading poetry is the frame of reference from which the artist is writing. Truly great poems have meaning both within that frame and outside of it.

Actually, the entire poem is supposed to be somewhat satirical, the emphasis being that the Marine's words were the wisest and least corrupted of them all. Sandburg used Russia, the French Revolution, and the First World War because all three evoke mixed emotions and reactions in both the average Joe and in studied historians.